Wanted, pregnant women for sting operations

The discontinuation of funding for the scheme that facilitated the use of decoy pregnant women stalls action against sex determination malpractices

The state family welfare department has cut off funding for decoy pregnant women used in sting operations, like conducting raids on doctors or radiologists carrying out clandestine sex determination tests. As a result, such operations are on hold in Pune and all over the state. Health officials need decoy pregnant women for such raids, but their pleas to women and social organisations have come to nought for the last year. Health experts and activists related to this field blame the stoppage of funding by the health department for the situation.

The state family welfare department had introduced the funding scheme for decoy pregnant women for sting operations at diagnostic centres under the ‘Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act 1994, two years ago. The scheme made provisions to pay Rs 25,000 to women who assisted in the sting operations, and were present in court during hearings. The scheme to encourage women to come forward in seeking action against the sex determination tests was stopped after a year.

Dr Shekhar Bendre, president of Jan Arogya Manch, an organisation of general practitioners involved in public health care, said that funding was essential. “Decoy customers are the most reliable way to detect sex determination activities by doctors compared to methods like tracking or recording. But these operations are difficult to carry out, and are time-consuming and require lots of efforts. Therefore the women should be given fair compensation. Without funds, it is difficult to recruit women to take part in such operations. The health department should resume funding for these operations, as sex determination testing is rampant in rural areas, and curbing it is the need of the hour,” he said.

“The scheme was stopped because the defense counsel of accused doctors repeatedly alleged that the pregnant women involved in the sting operations, gave their statements in court just for money. This led to the stopping of funding for the scheme by the government,” said a senior officer from the state welfare office on the condition of anonymity. “Besides the Rs 25,000, the women were paid daily wages and travelling allowances during the raid and court hearings. The money will not promote actions, but only those women who wish to improve the system will help in the operation,” he said. An officer from the PCPNDT cell of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) health department said that they were dire need of decoy pregnant women but none were coming forward. “We have leads regarding ongoing sex determination malpractices but we do not have any women to be used as decoys to catch the culprits. Earlier, such women were easy to recruit as they were being paid Rs 25,000. But since the government has stopped the scheme, no women are volunteering and this has affected our drive adversely,” said the officer.

PMC PCPNDT cell has filed as many as 37 cases as per the law from year of 2014 till date. These cases were filed against doctors for not maintaining records of patients, writers, publishers and astrologers. Three doctors were booked for using unregistered sonography machines, while one was nabbed in a sting operation. But these days, despite having certain leads, the department does not have the women decoys necessary for the cases. 
 PCPNDT health officials are booking radiologists on suspicion with the help of decoy customers. The act was amended in 2014 and made easy the ‘F’ form to fill the radiologist.

Dr Archana Patil, Additional Director of Health Services, who is in charge of the state PCPNDT cell, said that department is paying informers and not the decoy women, due to allegations. “We are providing Rs 25,000 to the informers after the accused are sentenced to imprisonment by the court, but not to the decoy women, by which allegations have
 happened,” said Dr Patil.

dnyaneshwar.bhonde@goldensparrow.com

Originally published on The Golden Sparrow